Get Off Your Duff

[thesummerqueen]

http://www.scientificamerican.com/articl...ing-linked

Physical inactivity is linked to as many as 49,000 cases of breast cancer and 43,000 cases of colon cancer a year in the United States, said Christine Friedenreich, an epidemiologist at Alberta Health Services-Cancer Care in Canada.

Breast and colon cancer appear to be the cancers most influenced by physical activity, according to the research we have to date, Friedenreich said, in presenting her findings here today (Nov. 3) at the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) conference.

But her findings also suggested that an estimated 37,200 cases of lung cancer, 30,600 cases of prostate cancer, 12,000 cases of endometrial cancer and 1,800 cases of ovarian cancer could be prevented if people were more physically active.

The work adds to a growing body of research indicating that prolonged sitting has lethal consequences, regardless of how active people are the rest of the day.

"It seems highly likely that the longer you sit, the higher your risk [of cancer]," said Neville Owen, head of behavioral epidemiology at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Australia, who also presented findings at the meeting. Owen's study showed that U.S. adults, on average, sit 15.5 hours a day.

[Kayenneh]

Ah, now I feel all the better that I went to a Zumba lesson today

[thesummerqueen]

Makes me not feel so bad that I hate sitting in one spot for a long period of time.

[Zen Badger]

I'd love to engage in a bit of physical inactivity for a bit. Just once.....

[Autumnlicious]

Ah, more bullshit... Correlation != causation.

I'd like to point out that our hominid brethren spend quite some time sitting on their asses; for multiple species that we've kept in capitivity at length and yet only humans?

I've seen little reason to consider humans differently when looking at large scale actions (e.g. sitting is common among a great many organisms) and correlating that to certain specific maladies. And cancer is a rather specific diagnosis for sitting.

What shit.